Sound Healing

Sound Healing

Modern science now supports the ancient belief that all matter comes from vibration or sound. Physicists have found that the physical world is made up of vibrating energy. (Quantum mechanics also known as quantum physics - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_mechanics)

Sound healing is the use of sound and music for healing. Sound healing offers the possibility of a drug free way of treating pain and illness. Sound healing is simple to use and has no harmful side effects.

Sound healing is probably the oldest form of healing known to man. Sound healing was used in the ancient civilizations of China, Egypt, Greece and India.

The effects of music have been recognized by the ancient Greeks and Romans. Pythagoras believed that the heavenly bodies created sounds. He called these sounds "The Music of the Spheres".

In the Bible we are told that David played his harp to lift King Saul's depression. "Whenever the spirit from God came upon Saul, David would take his harp and play. Then relief would come to Saul; he would feel better, and the evil spirit would leave him". (Bible Samuel 16:23)

Handel wrote his ‘Water Music’ to help King George’s problems of memory loss and depression.(O'Donnell, Laurence; "Music Power: The Report"; 1999).

The idea of "The Music of the Spheres" is not so far fetched. According to NASA the radio sounds of Saturn's rotation, which are also the first sounds from Saturn studied by Cassini, are like a heartbeat and can be heard by visiting http://www-pw.physics.uiowa.edu/space-audio (http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/cassini/media/cassini-062804.html)

How does it work?

Sound healing works due to the principles of resonance and entrainment. Modern medicine now uses sound waves to break up kidney and gallstones in the body. The lithotripter is a device that pulverizes kidney stones by passing shock waves through a water-filled tub in which the patient sits. The procedure creates stone fragments small enough to be expelled in the urine.

Recent scientific research has identified specific sound frequencies, which relate to different parts of the body. Therapeutic application of the appropriate sound frequencies can help disorders in those parts of the body.

"Every cell, tissue, and organ in the body has its own healthy frequencies, both measurable and unmeasurable by conventional scientific methods". (Burton Goldberg, Larry Trivieri, John W. Anderson - 2002 - Alternative Medicine: The Definitive Guide)

Surgery

Scientific studies have shown the benefits of listening to music for those under-going surgery. Listening to music reduces anxiety and pain in adults and children alike. (South Medical Journal, 2005; 98: p 282–8).

In one study, listening to music proved to be just as effective as sedatives in relieving the anxiety of 207 patients before an operation. The researchers found no significant differences in anxiety, cortisol level, heart rate and blood pressure between those taking diazepam and those who listened to music in the run-up to surgery. (Medscape Journal of Medicine 2008 June 25).

Hospitals are now using harpists to calm patients on the operating table after research found that the instrument eased pain. The sound and vibrations have also been shown to lower the heart rate, decrease blood pressure and combat heart disease. Research in the United States found that the range of vibrations emitted by the plucked strings affect the body's nervous system.

The US research has been conducted by Dr Abraham Kocheril, the chief of cardiac electrophysiology at the Carle Heart Centre, in Illinois. He said: "The harp seems to affect the part of the nervous system which regulates the heart. It relaxes the patient and the heart slows down. (Harp music 'eases pain in surgery' -Jasper Copping - Daily Telegraph 2nd Jan 2006).

At the Department of Coronary Care at St. Agnes Hospital, Baltimore, music ranks high on the list of modern day management of critical care patients. Its relaxing properties enable patients to get well faster by allowing them to accept their condition and treatment without excess anxiety.

In a study of 59,000 patients 97% of them stated that music was a real help to them to relax in the postoperative situation and during surgery with local anesthesia. (Harvey Arthur. Music in Attitudinal Medicine. in Campbell Don ed. Music: Physician for Times to Come. Quest Books. Illinois. p189. ISBN 0-8356-0668-6. 1991.)

Sound healing is now widely used in Germany and Eastern Europe. Patients report a reduction in headaches, better sleep patterns, improved memory and concentration.

Music is Good for your Heart

Research shows that it is musical tempo, rather than style that influences your heat rate. Italian and British researchers recruited young men and women, half of whom were trained musicians. The participants slipped on headphones and listened to six styles of music, including rap and classical pieces, with random two-minute pauses. As the participants listened, the researchers monitored their breathing, heart rates and blood pressure. The participants had faster heart and breathing rates when they listened to lively music. When the musical slowed, so did their heart and breathing rates.

During the musical pauses, heart and breathing rates normalised or reached more optimal levels. Whether or not a person liked the style of music did not matter. The tempo of the music had the greatest effect on relaxation.

(Bernardi L, Porta C, Sleight P. Cardiovascular, cerebrovascular, and respiratory changes induced by different types of music in musicians and non-musicians: the importance of silence. Heart. 2006 Apr;92(4):445-52. Epub 2005 Sep 30).

Reducing Blood Pressure

By playing recordings of relaxing music every morning and evening, people with high blood pressure can train themselves to lower their blood pressure and keep it low. According to research reported at the American Society of Hypertension meeting in New Orleans, listening to just 30 minutes of classical, Celtic or raga music every day may significantly reduce high blood pressure.

(Teng XF, Wong MY, Zhang YT. Abstract ‘The effect of music on hypertensive patients’. Conf Proc IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc. 2007;2007:4649-51).

Heart Disease

A recent review of 23 scientific studies of the use of music in the treatment of coronary heart disease showed that those participants that listened to music as part of their treatment had better health than those who just received standard care (the studies involved 1,500 participants).

Listening to music also had beneficial effects on blood pressure, heart and respiratory rates, anxiety and pain. In most studies participants listened to pre-recorded music as well as their routine care. (Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2009).

Stroke Patients

According to a study carried out in Helsinki, Finland, listening to music for a few hours every day can boost recovery in the early stages following a stroke. The results showed that the recovery of verbal memory and attention improved significantly more with the group of patients who listened to music compared with those patients who listened to audio books or did nothing at all. The music group also felt less depressed and confused than the no-music group. These differences were still present six months later, suggesting that music may have long-term effects on brain function and mood (Brain, 2008; 131: p 866–76).

A daily dose of one's favorite pop melodies, classical music or jazz can speed recovery from debilitating strokes, according to the latest research. When stroke patients in Finland listened to music for a couple of hours each day, verbal memory and attention span improved significantly compared to patients who received no musical stimulation, or who listened only to stories read out loud, the study reports.

(Sarkamo T, Tervaniemi M, Laitinen S, Forsblom A, Soinila S, Mikkonen M, Autti T, Silvennoinen HM, Erkkila J, Laine M, Peretz I, Hietanen M. Free Full Text Music listening enhances cognitive recovery and mood after middle cerebral artery stroke. Brain. 2008 Mar;131(Pt 3):866-76).

Hormones

There are particular biochemical responses in the human body to music. Research showed that college students, when listening to music, have more galvanic skin response peaks, as opposed to when they were not listening to music. This research also indicates a significant decrease of norepinephrine levels in students while they listen to "preferred" music. Norepinephrine is a neurotransmitter that arbitrates chemical communication in the sympathetic nervous system of the human body.

The release of this neurotransmitter, as a consequence of a function of the brain, results in an increased heart rate and raised blood pressure. Therefore, the decrease of norepinephrine in these college students results in a more "relaxed" state. This could suggest that favoured music somehow affects the mind, resulting in the relaxing of the body.

(Vanderark, Sherman D., and Daniel Ely. (1993). "Cortisol, Biochemical, and Galvanic Skin Responses to Music Stimuli of Different Preference Values by College Students in Biology and Music." Perceptual Motor Skills, 77, pp. 227-234).

Scientists have shown how Bach's music can create a positive and profound emotional experience, which leads to secretion of immune-boosting hormones. This helps contribute to a reduction in the factors responsible for illness. Listening to music or singing can also decrease levels of stress-related hormone cortisol. Higher levels of cortisol can lead to a decreased immune response.

(Le Roux FH, Bouic PJ, Bester MM. The effect of Bach's magnificat on emotions, immune, and endocrine parameters during physiotherapy treatment of patients with infectious lung conditions. J Music Ther. 2007 Summer;44(2):156-68).

Music and the Brain

Another research project, undertaken at the Tokyo Institute of Psychiatry, focused on the effects of music on the mind using electroencephalograms (EEG). An electroencephalograph is a medical instrument that is capable of showing the electrical activity of the brain by measuring electrical potentials on the scalp. In this experiment, volunteers were exposed to silence, music, white noise (simulated hiss), and then silence. The result of this experiment coincides with the previous findings. The volunteers all reported feeling a calming sensation. However, the researches did not attribute the lowered tension to reduced neurotransmitter levels.

While listening to music, "many of the subjects reported that they felt pleasantly relaxed or comfortable. Music may evoke more organised mental activities which result in subjectively comfortable feelings." The white noise in the experiment produced an even greater effect; the volunteers were so relaxed that many felt drowsy and soporific. The monotonous characteristics of white noise, in contrast to the variations in tone and melody of normal music can explain this sleepy effect.

Furthermore, the researchers found, based on the EEGs, that while listening to music, the volunteers maintained a higher consciousness than when they were exposed to silence or white noise. What this experiment shows is that there is a change in the mental state of people while listening to music.

(Ogata, Shigeki. (1995). "Human EEG Responses to Classical Music and Simulated White Noise: Effects of a Musical Loudness Component on Consciousness." Perceptual Motor Skills, 80, pp. 779-790).

Singing Enhances Immunity

Several studies have used saliva testing to compare physiological responses to choral singing. In one such study at the University of California, Irvine choristers showed significantly increased levels of immunity-building proteins just prior to performance and even more dramatically afterward. (The Voice, Summer 2001).

Another study investigated the effects of choir music on secretory immunoglobulinA(S-IgA), cortisol, and emotional states in members of a mixed amateur choir. Subjects participated in two activities during two rehearsals one week apart, namely singing versus listening to choral music. Saliva samples and subjective measures of affect were taken both before each session and 60 min later. Repeated measure analyses of variance were conducted for positive and negative affect scores, immunoglobin A proteins and cortisol.

The results indicate several significant effects. In particular, singing leads to increases in positive affect and immunoglobin A proteins, while negative affect is reduced. Listening to choral music leads to an increase in negative affect, and decreases in levels of cortisol. These results suggest that choir singing positively influences both emotional affect and immune competence. The observation that subjective and physiological responses differed between listening and singing conditions invites further investigation of task factors.

The researchers concluded that singing not only strengthened the immune system but also notably improved the performer's mood.

(Effects of Choir Singing or Listening on Secretory Immunoglobulin A, Cortisol, and Emotional State - Gunter Kreutz,1,3 Stephan Bongard,2 Sonja Rohrmann,2 Volker Hodapp,2 and Dorothee Grebe1 - J Behav Med. 2004 Dec;27(6):623-35)

Chronic Pain

Music can help to reduce pain. Music can help reduce both the sensation and distress of both chronic pain and postoperative pain.

Listening to music can reduce chronic pain from a range of painful conditions, including osteoarthritis, disc problems and rheumatoid arthritis, by up to 21% and depression by up to 25%, according to a paper in the latest UK based Journal of Advanced Nursing.

"The people who took part in the music groups listened to music on a headset for an hour a day and everyone who took part, including the control group, kept a pain diary" explains nurse researcher Dr Sandra L Siedlecki from the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Ohio.

(The effect of music on power, pain, depression and disability - Journal of Advanced Nursing. 2005 Volume 54.5, p 553 to 562.).

References

• Burton Goldberg, Larry Trivieri, John W. Anderson - 2002 - Alternative Medicine: The Definitive Guide

http://www.digipharm.com/01/06_Research/0601_Research/Research_Summary/0801_Research_Contents.php